(Monday, April 14; Sioux Center, Iowa) The Heart of America Athletic Conference has announced its 2025 Men’s Volleyball All-Conference teams and award winners and the Dordt had three players recognized for their play in the recently completed season.
Andres Guzman (Senior; Bogota, Columbia), Lukas Van Groningen (Senior; Ripon, California) and Cade Schmidt (Sophomore; Palmdale, California) all were honored with Guzman and Van Groningen claiming 2nd Team honors and Schmidt is an honorable mention selection.
Guzman was three-time All-GPAC 1st Team selection in 2021, 2022 and 2023 before missing much of 2024 with injury. Guzman averaged 3.2 kills per set this season with 31 ace serves and 1.5 digs per set. He leaves the Dordt program with 808 career kills (2nd all-time), 99 ace serves (1st all-time) and 495 digs, (2nd all-time).
“Andres has always been a high-level athlete with a very capable skill set in all aspects of the sport. This season, he has put together the strongest combination of outcomes in attacking, digging, blocking, passing, and serving, and he has done this in the most competitive season of his career against many nationally ranked teams. For the Heart of America Athletic Conference to recognize him is as an all-conference team member is very appreciated and well deserved,” said Dordt head coach Chad Hanson.
Van Groningen twice earned All-GPAC 1st Team honors in 2023 and 2024 and was an honorable mention selection in 2022 and was the conference co-setter of the year in 2023. Van Groningen averaged 10.1 assists per set and leaves the Dordt program with 2,470 career assists, 419 digs (4th all-time) and 156 kills.
“Lukas has had his best season in his career at Dordt. He’s shattered the all-time career assist record, broken the record for assists in three set and four set matches, grown his leadership on and off the court, and invested into our success this season. Further, he has asserted himself as the top couple of setters in our new Heart of America Athletic Conference with assists per set. This conference honor is well deserved and truly appreciated,” said Hanson.
Schmidt was an honorable mention pick in 2024 and has 443 career kills after two seasons and has 200 digs and 49 ace serves while playing all six rotations for the Defenders. Schmidt averaged 3.2 kills per set with a .255 kill efficiency and 1.3 digs per outing.
“Cade has significantly increased his on-court production for us this season in all areas of his play. His service aces per set doubled from last season as well as his attack efficiency. His strong serve receive and defensive skills also keep our offense in motion. The Heart of America Athletic Conference men’s volleyball coaches have rightly recognized Cade with their votes. This is a tough conference and he competes at the highest level with any of the teams,” said Hanson.
Dordt recently completed a 15-12 overall record and a 9-10 finish in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Dordt joined the HAAC prior to the 2024-25 school year. The 15 match wins this season are the second most in program history, one shy of the 2023 total when the Defenders recorded a 16-4 overall record.
